Lil BUB Fundraiser for VTH Nears Goal

March 25, 2016

With the support of Lil BUB's fan base and help from a front-page story in the Lafayette Journal and Courier, a Purdue Veterinary Medicine fundraiser being conducted through Purdue's Crowdfunding site is within 10% of the $7,000 goal (as of the Vet Gazette publishing deadline on Friday, March 25). The fundraising campaign ends on April 1.

Lil BUB is a famously unique Indiana cat that has more than 2.6 million followers. Born with a multitude of genetic anomalies including an extreme case of dwarfism, Lil BUB came to the Purdue Veterinary Teaching Hospital in 2015 for treatment of a fractured elbow that she sustained after a minor fall. The injury was due to Lil BUB's osteopetrosis, which is a very rare bone disease in felines that makes bones abnormally dense and prone to fracture.

Due to Lil BUB's small size, her treatment required special small tools not inventoried at the VTH. After a successful recovery, Lil BUB's owner, Mike Bridavsky, of Bloomington, Ind., and the College teamed-up to raise money for purchasing the hospital's very own Lil BUB Surgery Set. As of this morning (Friday, March 25), the drive had reached 94% of the goal, with a total of nearly $6,600 raised. Click here to view the Lil BUB Surgery Set funding page. To donate, just click the "Give Now" button.

The fundraising campaign was conceived during conversations involving Mike Bridavsky and Purdue Veterinary Medicine orthopedic surgeons Mark Rochat and Sarah Malek. Click here to view a complete news release about the project. The story was featured on the front page of the Wednesday, March 23 issue of the Lafayette Journal & Courier. Click here to read the article. The story also has been carried in the Indianapolis Star and as far away as Salt Lake City, where it was posted on the KSL.com website.